To flexible walls, in particular for vehicle bodywork

ABSTRACT

A flexible reinforced wall includes a plastified canvas and a trellis for reinforcing the plastified canvas. The trellis includes a plurality of ribbons with at least some of the plurality being arranged perpendicular to one another and wherein at least some of ribbons comprising a plastic material which is fixable to the plastified canvas. The ribbons have a continuous metal core for increasing their strength. The trellis is fixed to the plastified canvas by one of glueing or welding.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention concerns an improvement to flexible walls of plasticcanvas, which is fitted in particular to the bodies of vehicles, butwhich can also be utilized in temporary or other buildings.

These flexible walls or curtains are typically suspended from the toprails of the vehicle body, stretched at their lateral extremities in anappropriate manner, with their lower edge being fixed by straps to theedges of the vehicle floor.

2. Description of Background and Relevant Information

As in the case of the wall described in document GB-A-2 161 851, theinvention can be used to improve the security of the transported goods,the latter being protected against harmful acts, vandalism and/or theft.In the case of the above-mentioned document, this protection resultsfrom what is a veritable double wall:

the conventional wall or curtain,

a lining in the form of reinforced canvas, the edges of which are fixedto the conventional wall.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention proposes an improvement which, in addition to theprotection which it affords, also improves the appearance of this typeof curtain.

On one of its faces, preferably the inside face, the flexible wallaccording to the invention utilizes a trellis formed of ribbons whichare glued or welded vertically and horizontally. These ribbons are madefrom material which is compatible with that of the curtain, of the PVCtype, and have a continuous central core made of a material such assteel, which is highly resistant to shear and extension.

According to a variant of the invention, the trellis can also bepre-assembled, and there after fixed to the curtain by a heat-weldedfilm.

According to the invention, the mesh of the trellis is approximately 10cm wide and 10 to 20 cm high for example, so that a good degree offlexibility is retained by the curtain.

Again according to the invention, the material making up the centralcore of the PVC ribbons are in the form of a smooth or rough wire ormicro-cable, or may be in the form of a tape.

When used on the bodies of vehicles, the flexible wall comes in the formof a curtain which slides at the top, running along the body of thevehicle. Such a curtain includes sliding devices attached to its upperparts, attachment devices at the sides for exerting a high degree oflongitudinal tension to the curtain, and attachment devices placed atregular intervals at the bottom of the curtain, so as to stretch thecurtain vertically as well as to secure it to the edge of the floor.These attachment devices utilize elastic straps interposed between ananchoring bracket attached to the bottom of the curtain and a hookfitting onto the edge of the floor.

According to another arrangement of the invention, the top bracket ofthe attachment devices includes a securing elements for securing it tothe curtain, and these elements may be bolts which clamp the bracket tothe curtain using a strengthening plate which is glued and/or welded tothe inner face of the flexible wall.

Again according to the invention, the strengthening plate for anchoringthe upper bracket of each attachment device to the flexible wall ispreferably made of a metal plate with a PVC covering.

According to another arrangement of the invention, the attachment devicehas two identical parts at its bottom end, and these are fixed back toback to form on one side a hook which attaches to the edge of the floor,and on the other side a handle for manipulating the attachment device.

According to an alternative variant, the lower part of the attachmentdevice includes a hook, and underneath this hook there is an operatinghandle.

Still again according to the invention, the hook includes a ring or tubewhich allows the passage of a locking device for sealing purposes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

However the invention will be detailed still further by the followingdescription and the attached diagrams provided here as a guide only, andin which:

FIG. 1 represents, in a schematic manner, the external face of aflexible wall comprising the body curtain of a vehicle;

FIG. 2 represents a portion of the trellis, fixed or welded to theinternal wall of the curtain show in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged section of the tape making up the trellisapplied against the curtain;

FIG. 4 represents an attachment device suitable for placing on thebottom part of the curtain, viewed from the front; and

FIG. 5 is a side view of an attachment device, fixed to the curtain andin the normal attachment position, fixed to the edge of the vehiclefloor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The curtain, represented in FIG. 1, is composed of a canvas 1 suspendedby a large number of runners 2 to the structure of the body of a vehiclewhich is not shown.

The canvas of which this curtain is composed is made from aplastic-impregnated textile tissue.

In order to improve its ability to accept traction in both longitudinaland vertical directions, this canvas is covered, preferably on theinside, with a trellis 3 having a large number of vertical 4 andhorizontal 5 ribbons. This trellis can be made up, and glued or weldeddirectly onto the canvas, or can be pre-assembled and then fixed ontothe said canvas, directly and/or by an additional plastic film notshown, which can be heat-welded for example.

As shown in FIG. 3, these ribbons 4 and 5 are very thin and have a widthof the order of few millimetres, 5 to 10 for example, and are made froma material, such as PVC, which is compatible with that of the curtain,and which can be welded or glued to the curtain as appropriate.

These ribbons include a continuous central core 6 in a material such assteel, for example, which is resistant to extension and to shear.

This core 6 is composed of a steel wire or a microcable, or a metalbraid or even of a tape. The ribbons 4 and 5 serve as the attachmentinterface between the core 6 and the canvas of the curtain 1.

The trellis 3 forms a sort of reinforcing on the internal face of thecurtain, and improves the ability to tension the curtain bothhorizontally and vertically.

The horizontal ribbons are preferably spaced at a distance V of theorder of 10 to 20 cm, while the vertical ribbons are spaced at adistance H of the order of 10 cm for example, forming a square orrectangular mesh.

The trellis 3 also comprises protection against aggression, such asserious cutting of the canvas. This protection can prevent seriousdamage to or theft of the merchandise carried.

This trellis 3 is also associated with the various devices which providethe connection between the curtain and the structure of the vehiclebody.

The horizontal longitudinal tension on the curtain is provided by poles7 which are attached at each vertical end. These poles are welded orglued to the canvas, and are attached to the structure of the body whichis not shown.

The vertical tension on the curtain is achieved by the attachmentdevices 10 distributed regularly along the bottom of the curtain. FIG. 4represents a front view of one of the attachment devices 10. Thisattachment device is composed of an anchoring bracket 11 in a lightmetal for example. This anchoring bracket is fixed, as shown in FIG. 5,by a pair of bolts 12 for example.

This fixing is applied directly to the curtain 1, at the bottom, thecurtain being clamped between the bracket 11 and a plate 13 placed onthe inside of the curtain. This plate 13 is preferably composed of a PVCcovered metal plate, and it is either welded or glued to the inside ofthe curtain.

The bracket 11 has a slot 14 at the bottom which is used for anchoringan elastic strap 15 by a piece of ordinary woven strap 16, to which itis sewn, for example.

The flexible strap comes in the form of a tape with a width of the orderof a few centimetres. In order to achieve strength, it is preferable beto utilize a double-width strap, the strength of which would be similarto that of an ordinary woven strap.

Rubber cables, of the type used in extenders, can also be used.

The attachment device 10 has a part 17 at the bottom composed of twoidentical parts assembled back to back, forming on one side a hook 19which fits onto the edge 20 of the floor 21 of the vehicle body. At theback of the hook 19 there is a similar part which forms a handle 22 usedto operate the attachment device, and in particular to exert tension onthe elastic strap 15.

The elastic strap 15 is fixed, like its upper part, by a piece of wovenstrap 23 which passes through a slot 24 cut into part 17.

The handle 22 can also be located below the hook 19, as shown by a finebroken line, in a manner which reduces the external dimensions.

The hook 19 can also have a ring or a tube 25 to receive the locking andseal-fitting cable.

What is claimed is:
 1. A flexible reinforced wall, comprising:aplastified canvas; and a trellis for reinforcing the plastified canvascomprising a plurality of ribbons, with at least some of the ribbonsbeing arranged substantially perpendicularly to one another; at leastsome of ribbons comprising a plastic material which is fixable to theplastified canvas and a continuous metal core for increasing thestrength of the ribbons; wherein the trellis is fixed to the plastifiedcanvas by one of glueing or welding.
 2. The flexible reinforced wall ofclaim 1, wherein the plastic material comprises PVC and wherein themetal core comprises steel.
 3. The flexible reinforced wall of claim 1,wherein the trellis comprises a subassembly of substantiallyperpendicularly arranged ribbons, said ribbons being fixed to oneanother.
 4. The flexible reinforced wall of claim 3, further comprisinga heat-weldable film disposed between the trellis and the plastifiedcanvas.
 5. The flexible reinforced wall of claim 1, further comprising afirst plurality of ribbons arranged parallel to another and a secondplurality of ribbons arranged substantially perpendicular to the firstplurality of ribbons,wherein the first plurality of ribbons is spacedapart by a distance of approximately 10 cm and wherein the secondplurality of ribbons is spaced apart by a distance in the range ofapproximately 10 to 20 cm.
 6. The flexible reinforced wall of claim 1,wherein each ribbon comprises a centrally disposed metal core, saidmetal core comprising one of a wire, a micro-cable, metal braid, and atape.
 7. The flexible reinforced wall of claim 6, wherein the metal corecomprises an exterior surface which is smooth.
 8. The flexiblereinforced wall of claim 6, wherein the metal core comprises an exteriorsurface which is rough.
 9. The flexible reinforced wall of claim 1,wherein the reinforced flexible wall further comprises a polygon shapewith at least four sides;wherein a first side comprises a plurality ofsliding devices, a second opposite side comprises a plurality offlexible attachment devices being regularly spaced, and third and fourthsides each comprising a longitudinal attachment device.
 10. The flexiblereinforced wall of claim 9, wherein each of the sliding devices, theflexible attachment devices, and the longitudinal attachment devices arefixable to a vehicle.
 11. The flexible reinforced wall of claim 10,wherein each of the flexible attachment devices further comprise anelastic strap, said elastic strap including an anchoring bracketdisposed on one end and a hook part on another end;wherein the anchoringbracket fixes the elastic strap to the second side and the hook part isengageable with a floor edge of the vehicle.
 12. The flexible reinforcedwall of claim 11, wherein the strap is fixed to the second side using atleast one bolt which extends between the anchoring bracket and astrengthening plate which is fixed to an opposite surface of the secondside;wherein the second side is disposed between the anchoring bracketand the strengthening plate.
 13. The flexible reinforced wall of claim12, wherein the strengthening plate comprises a metal plate covered witha PVC material.
 14. The flexible reinforced wall of claim 11, whereinthe hook part further comprises two hook elements.
 15. The flexiblereinforced wall of claim 14, wherein the two hook elements are orientedin opposing directions with one hook comprising a handle.
 16. Theflexible reinforced wall of claim 14, wherein the hook part furthercomprises one of a tube and ring for locking and fitting a seal thereto.17. A flexible reinforced wall, comprising:a flexible canvas; and atrellis for reinforcing the canvas comprising a first plurality ofribbons arranged substantially parallel to one another and a secondplurality of ribbons arranged substantially parallel to one another,said first plurality and said second plurality arranged in anoverlapping relationship; each ribbon of said first and said secondplurality further comprising a metal core covered with a plasticmaterial; wherein the trellis is fixed to a surface of the canvas by oneof glueing or welding.
 18. The flexible reinforced wall of claim 17,wherein the plastic material comprises PVC and wherein the metal corecomprises steel.
 19. The flexible reinforced wall of claim 17, whereinthe first plurality is arranged substantially perpendicular to thesecond plurality, and wherein the first plurality is spaced apart by adistance of approximately 10 cm and wherein the second plurality isspaced apart by a distance in the range of approximately 10 to 20 cm.20. The flexible reinforced wall of claim 17, wherein the reinforcedflexible wall further comprises a polygon shape with at least foursides;wherein a first side comprises a plurality of sliding devices, asecond opposite side comprising a plurality of flexible attachmentdevices being regularly spaced, and third and fourth sides eachcomprising a longitudinal attachment device, each of the slidingdevices, the flexible attachment devices, and the longitudinalattachment devices being fixable to a vehicle.
 21. The flexiblereinforced wall of claim 20, wherein each of the flexible attachmentdevices further comprise an elastic strap, said elastic strap includingan anchoring bracket disposed on one end and a hook part on another endand wherein the anchoring bracket fixes the elastic strap to the secondside and the hook part is engageable with a floor edge of the vehicle.